Cheaper by the Dozen
by xXSwEeT dReAmSXx
Summary: This is a song fic including the song Whole Again by Play. i'm actually pretty proud of it


**_A/N: OK...this is my first Song fic...I still don't fully comprehend what a song fic is...but who gives a donkey's butt, right? If I did it right, kudos to me. If I did it wrong, it will be a good laugh right? So...onward! By the by, it's a tad long...but it's only one chapter so...WOOT!_**

Prologue

"I think we just some time apart," Joey McCartney said quietly to fifteen year old Sarah Baker. Sarah was heartbroken. Her boyfriend of two years, wanting to see other people? There must be some kind of mistake. But it was all too real for Sarah. Joey gave her a pity hug, turned, and left Sarah standing on the corner of their high school, alone.

"What's wrong, sis?" Jake Baker, now fourteen, asked, kicking up his skateboard.

"Joey, he, Jake, he broke up with me!" Sarah cried, bursting into tears. Jakes eyes softened and opened his arms for a hug. Jake just hugged his sister for awhile.

"You know what that means, right?" Jake whispered. "He's not the one for you. Or things would have worked out. And you never know. Things may still work out." Sarah sobbed. She lifted her head and smiled at her little brother.

The next day, Sarah trudged through the halls, staring at the ceiling. She was almost to her locker when Joey's familiar voice made her whole body stiffen. She willed herself not to break down. Joey just passed by without a single word, smile, nod. This broke Sarah's heart all over again.

_If you see me walking down the street_

_Staring at the sky, dragging my two feet_

_You just pass me by, it still makes me cry_

_but you can make me whole again_

It was lunch time and Sarah was buying today. One of Jake's skating buddy, who just so happened to be a junior, approached Sarah.

"Hey!" He said enthusiastically.

"Hey, Aaron," Sarah smiled sadly.

"What's wrong, Baker?" Aaron asked, genuinley concerned.

Sarah's eyes flickered over to Joey. He was laughing with his jock friends. Aaron followed her gaze.

"Oh, yeah. Jake told me about the butthole," Aaron said. Sarah smiled just a tad. She started the whole 'butthole' insult. Sarah's heart fluttered when Joey looked over at Sarah, in the middle of telling an obviously exciting story. Sarah then noticed Joey look at Aaron. _No! He's just a friend! _Sarah thought frantically.

_If you see me with another guy_

_I'm laughing and I'm joking, trying to get by_

_I won't put you down, cause I want you around_

you can make me whole again

That night, Sarah sat down in her room, going through her Joey Chest. Filled with everyhing from notes, to the first flower he gave her. It was petalless now, but a small circle around the middle suggested it was once red. Sarah's eyes began to water. She loved him. She knew she was only fifteen, but she knew she loved him. She needed him. Sarah cried herself to sleep that night. She was then engulfed by visions of the first day of high school.

Sarah was frantically looking at the signs on the doors. High school was so much bigger than middle school. Sarah looked over her schedule one more time. _D432? _Sarah's eyes were fixed the doors she passed. _B223. B225. Where are the D's? C187._

"Need help?" A smooth males voice asked. Sarah turned around. There in front of her was the cutest guy she had ever seen. He had spiky brown hair. Sarah noticed he had gorgeous green eyes as she slowly moved towards him. As soon as she was in arms length, she good smell the strong of cinnamon. She savored the smell penetrating her nostrils.

"D432?" Sarah asked sheepishly.

"Oh, Howard. Good luck with him," Joey winced, leading the way.

"Is he bad?" Sarah sighed.

"The worst Spanish teacher you can have," Joey said bluntly.

"Great," Sarah said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "I'm Sarah by the way. Sarah Baker."

"Joey McCartney," Joey said, winding his way through a group of giggling girls. "Baker? Are you one of the twelve baker kids?"

"That would be me, yes," Sarah said, used to this recognition.

"Hey, um, are you doing anything after school?" Joey asked, stopping in front of a baby blue door with D432 painted in white.

"Nothing," Sarah smiled. Later that day, Joey and Sarah were sipping mocha's. Joey was leaning in and Sarah's heart fluttered. Her first kiss. Their lips were inches apart, centimeters. Their lips were not even a centimeter apart and-

Beep. Beep. Beep. Sarah through her clock against the wall. She relived her first encounter with Joey again in her mind.

_Looking back on when we first met_

_I cannot escape and I cannot forget_

_Baby you're the one, you can do no wrong_

_You can make me whole again_

The day was over. It was finally the weekend. And none of the twelve Baker kids were happier to see the weekend than Sarah. _Friday. _Sarah thought, lying on her bed. Her heart broke. Friday. Friday were the days Sarah and Joey would rent a movie and watch it with chips and sodas. Sarah just lay there for hours.

_Time is laying heavy on my heart_

_Seems I've got too much of it since we've been apart_

"Sarah?" Kate Baker said quietly, poking her head into the room. "Jasmine is on the phone."

"I didn't even here it ring," Sarah confessed, grabbing her lacrosse phone.

"Hello?" Sarah said with no emotion.

"Hey girl!" Jasmine said in her usual perky voice. "Come to the movies with me and Ally and Jane! We're going to see the new action flick."

"I'm not really in the-," Sarah began.

"Great! My mom will come and pick you up in a few minutes! Be ready!" Jasmine instructed, hanging up. Sarah dragged herself out of bed, tightened her pigtails, and went downstairs.

"Mom, I'm going to the movies!" Sarah called.

"Alright! Have fun!" Kate shouted back, trying to persuade Kyle and Nigel to get into the car for their dentist appointment.

Going to the movies with her friend was exactly what Sarah needed. She had even forgotten about Joey for an hour and a half. The four girls were walking out of the theatre, laughing, when they ran into...him. Sarah's eyes immdediately fell to the floor. _Not now. _She pleaded. _Not when I'm having fun. _She loved her friends, but what Sarsh really needed, was Joey back in her life.

_My friends make me smile_

_If only for awhile, but you can make me whole again_

It had been a few weeks. Sarah still thought she loved Joey. She wasn't over it, but she was slowly healing. Sarah and Jasmine were drinking a shake, walking around the town part.

"Why don't we go to the fountain?" Jasmine said out of nowhere.

"What? But that's the other way!" Sarah laughed. Jasmine started pushing Sarah in the other direction.

"The fountain is always so pretty this time of year," Jasmine demanded. Something was up and Sarah knew it. She looked in the direction Jasmine was trying to push her away from. She should have listened to Jasmine. For there was Joey, sitting on a bench, handing a blonde a flower. A red flower. Then Sarah remebered.

Sarah was waiting anxiously for Joey to pick her up for homecoming. She was looking though the peep hole. Her heart soared when Joey appraoched the door. Before Joey had even rang the doorbell, Sarah through open the door.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't afford any big bouquets. So I got this from my garden," and he handed her a small red flower. Sarah sniffed the flower and held it to her chest. This was better than a bouquet of roses.

_Looking back on when we first met_

_I cannot escape and I cannot forget_

_Baby you're the one, you can do no wrong_

_You can make me whole again_

"Sarah?" Lorraine Baker called after her upset little sister. Sure, she was in college now, but she knew what was happening with her Butch. Lorraine followed Sarah upstairs and into Srah's room. "Sarah? Are you OK?"

Tears were pouring from Srah's eyes. She was banging on her Joey Chest with her lacrosse stick. Sarah gave it a final whack and, exhausted, fell to the floor. She rolled into a tight ball and rocked. It broke Lorraine's heart to see her sister like this. She rubbed Sarah's back until she calmed down.

"He's dating," Sarah whispered. She choked on the words like it caused her a great deal of pain to get it out. Having four sisters and dating herself, Lorraine understand the situation. Sarah lifted her head, gave her sister a helpless frown, and stretched out her legs.

"Sarah, baby. Do you remember Eddie?" Lorraine asked quietly.

"The plumbers son?" Sarah asked.

Lorraine laughed softly and nodded. "Yeah. Well, as you may remember, we dated for three years. We were talking about marriage. Can you imagine? Sixteen and wondering what wedding dress to have? But do you remember what happened?"

Sarah shook her head no. She remembered Lorraine being absolutely devastated, but she never understood why.

"Well, since we would be going to college soon, he wanted to expiriment with older women. He wanted to see if we were 'really meant to be.' That was a load of crap. He wanted to date other girls. He knew that, I knew that, his knew girlfriend knew that. I was so heart broken. I locked myself in my room for a week."

"I remeber that," Sarah nodded. "You were crying a lot. You were devastated."

"Your right. But I got over it. And you will to. It took me a week of crying to realize he wasn't the one for me. A week. A week wasted in my opinion. And now look. Danny and I have been together since. I never would have found him if it weren't for Eddie. Just remember: If he's the one, things will work out."

"That's what Jake said, too," Sarah whispered.

"Well, Jake is smart," Lorraine smirked. Lorraine gave Sarah a hug and went downstairs. This left Sarah feeling a whole new emotion.

_So now I'll have to wait_

_But baby if you change your mind_

_Don't be too late_

_Cause I just can't go on_

_It's already been too long_

_But you can make me whole again_

Epilogue

It was ten years later. Now 25 year old Sarah Baker sat at the table facing the ocean. She was now Mrs. Aaron Lint. That's right. Sarah married Aaron. When Sarah had taken Jake and Lorrain'e advice to heart, she realized how adorable and sweet Aaron was. They started dating when Sarah was a junior and Aaron was a senior. They both attented the same college. It was at Lorraine's and Danny's wedding that Sarah and Aaron realize they were in love. They married five years later. Sarah was scooting closer to Jake for a family portrait with her new husband. She had never been happier.


End file.
